Father & son / family sailing dinghy choice

I know that there are several Topics on this subject but none seem to have similar situations so I was wondering if I get the benefit of everyone’s experience and get some advice on choosing a Sailing dinghy.

 

Our 10 year old son, who is pretty competitive, has just completed three seasons of sailing (usually single handed) in Oppy’s and is looking to move onto something more challenging.  I used to sail wayfarer’s when I was at college (a long time ago) and want to take advantage of our location (very near the Solent ) and get back into the sport and share the fun together.

 

We are looking to purchase a second hand double handed dinghy, something that we can both learn in but has the performance to use when we have mastered the basics and is low in maintenance. One of the things that then complicates the choice is that we know that my wife and youngest daughter are likely to want to come out from time to time, and we know that his grandfather may also want to come out on occasions.

 

My current thoughts are running along the lines of a Laser Stratos or the Laser 2000 and I was wondering what choices anyone else would recommend given the information above.

I would of course say Laser 2000, not influenced at all by the fact there is one in the garden, shortly to be for sale...

But seriously, there are any number of boats that meet your requirements.  What you need to work out first is where you're going to sail and how often.  Nothing will put you and your son off more quickly than choosing a heavy boat, such as a Stratos, GP, Wayfarer etc, then finding your chosen club has a steep slipway and you can barely pull the thing out of the water.  Once you've chosen a club - and make sure you go visit in person, not just on the net - then see what everyone else there is sailing.  Look for a family friendly club (hence the reason for the visit) and see what other families are sailing, that way you get a whole new network of friends and advice.  You might even find a boat for sale at the club you decide to join, whichremoves a huge amount of hassle.  You might also find the club has boats you can try out, or members who will take you for a ride in theirs.

The club is just as an important a choice as the boat - if you don't like the club it will put you off sailing.  I would start a new post asking about friendly clubs on the solent, and go from there.


Edited by winging it - 17 Oct 10 at 12:31pm

What club are you going to sail at and what do they have there because you dont want to sail at a club with no one else to sail against in that class.

It has to primarily be manageable by you and your 10 year old son so avoid anything too big. If you are looking to race then a L2000 is a good bet - alternatives like the Stratos, Vision and Magno aren't really suitable for racing. I suspect at 10 he may be a tad on the small side to cope with the kite unless the wind is light, but maybe not.
You are close to plenty of good clubs, it's just a matter of picking the one you like best.    

The Magno has got a roller reef for the jib.
My only negative comment about the magno is that it is a little on the tippy side in light airs, thats when you compare it to other boats such as a pacer, 2000 .etc.


Dan